With eighth-grade math students, Michigan’s performance differed from both that of Florida and the nation as a whole. From 1996 to 2011, Michigan’s score grew only slightly, starting at 276.9 and increasing to 280.2, a statistically insignificant 1.2 percent increase. Florida’s average score grew from 263.6 to 277.8, a 5.4 percent increase that was statistically significant (see Graphic 13). The national average went from 268.8 to 282.7, a statistically significant 5.2 percent increase.

Graphic 13: Average NAEP Eighth-Grade Math Scores in the United States, Michigan and Florida, All Students, 1996-2011

Among lower-income students on the NAEP eighth-grade math test, Michigan fared slightly better than it did among all students, though Florida still outshone the Great Lakes State. Michigan’s average math test score for lower-income eighth-grade students rose from 257.0 in 1996 to 265.6 in 2011, a statistically significant 3.3 percent increase. Florida’s average lower-income student test score in math jumped from 247.9 to 266.9, a statistically significant 7.7 percent improvement (see Graphic 14). Nationally, the average lower-income eighth-grade math score improved from 250.1 in 1996 to 269.0 in 2011, a statistically significant 7.6 percent increase.

Graphic 14: Average NAEP Eighth-Grade Math Scores in the United States, Michigan and Florida, Students Qualifying for the National School Lunch Program, 1996-2011